Monthly Archives: January 2018

You have been put in charge of running a fundraiser. There are so many considerations that just the thought of fundraising can make you frustrated! What time of year should you do it? What should you sell? How do you run this campaign? There are a lot of different professional fundraising companies out there looking to help you. How do you pick the right one? Here are a few tips and questions to keep in mind when your hunting around:

How long have they been in business? Its the same with any new business you investigate. Have they been around long enough that theyre going to be able to take care of you? If theyve been around awhile they can anticipate your needs and give you some valuable guidance.

Check for references. Will the company give some references of businesses or schools that have used them? Will anybody vouch for them? Are they a member of the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers?

Do they know your state laws for fundraising? Will your potential fundraising company be able to give you specifics on how to declare your taxes? This is important because each state has differences in tax collection. Some states declare that product fundraising is exempt from tax, while in other states these monies are taxable.

How responsive are they? Do they seem reachable if you have a problem? What if something is shipped incorrectly or broken? Do you have to wait days for a response? Can you reach them multiple ways is you need it through a toll free number and email address?

Are they selling a quality product? Its going to be pretty tough trying to sell broken lollipops as a fundraising campaign. Are the products the fundraising company selling going to get much attention from your donors? You get to pick what youre campaign will sell but do they have a catalogue with great options or a limited choice of average items?

Since all fundraising is important, the fundraising company needs provide a solid no hassle service. In the upcoming years, with a pending downturn in the economy and slashing of funding, fundraising companies are going to become increasingly more important for their services.

Businesses and organizations are going to lean heavily on fundraising to supplement their annual budgets in the coming years. The fundraising company you choose, you probably will partner with for several campaigns. Its important you feel they are listening to your needs and a dependable bond will develop between you.

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If youre considering including a video into your marketing strategy, perhaps it is an explainer video that you can put on your website to explain your product quickly and effectively, a testimonial video which will give examples of people you have worked with or even a viral video which you hope will really raise the profile of your company through social media strategy, it can sometimes be really difficult to initially choose which video production company to use especially if you have no experience in this field.

There are a number of ways which you can separate the good from the bad however, and this article details just how you can find the best video production company in Norfolk.

The first decision to make is whether to go for a large national company or stick with a local smaller company of which there are many in Norfolk. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options. If you decide to go with a smaller company you will often find that you have your own account manager who acts very much as your sole point of contact whereas in a larger company the person you are dealing directly with may not be the same person who actually shoots the footage. Often finding a reputable small company is the best way to go and also helps to support local businesses.

The choice of business is also, of course, directly related to how much money you are planning to spend and often as the companies get larger they are also more expensive. For this reason Id suggest getting an array of quotes which cover the whole process, not just the filming but editing and project management to avoid any pricing issues later down the line.

Bearing in mind the local aspect to a Norfolk video production company, if your company is also based in the are they may well be able to relate to your organisation a little bit better, and especially if you want to feature an aspect of Norfolk in your video a locally based company would certainly have the best ideas of how this could be built in.

Finally make sure youve seen some testimonials and casestudies from the company you end up choosing. This way you know the quality of their work, and also which areas they specialise in.

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Businesses today rely heavily on computer operating systems, and an inherent part of that technology is that something could go wrong. Many companies cannot afford to have in house departments that specialize in IT issues, so they turn to the valuable services provided by IT support companies.

When a business is starting with an IT support company, it is imperative to have a contract written up to specify exactly what services will be provided by the IT company, what the response times should be when the company is called because of IT problems, the costs of all services, and what will be expected of the IT company. Everything should be clearly spelled out so that there won’t be misunderstandings later when the company is experiencing IT issues that need to be addressed by your IT company.

Things like the period of the contract are important, and what is required to keep that contract going. Also the equipment covered by the contract should be specified, what kind of software is covered, and other things that may be expected from the IT support company. Things like the number of times they come out, once a month or more, and whether support can be provided over the telephone, are all important issues to have covered in the contract when first starting with an IT company.

More businesses these days are relying on workers that work either at home, or in remote locations. This is another important thing to cover in a contract, the question of whether remotely located computers are covered by that IT company’s contract. Another important thing for a company to be aware of when dealing with an IT company is that the shorter the expected response time is, the more the IT services for support will cost. A company should have an idea of how much is allocated in their budget for IT services for support.

There should always be a person within the company, or even several people, that are appointed to deal with the IT company that is providing support. These people should be individuals that are knowledgeable about the company’s computer hardware and software systems, and that can deal with IT effectively. It’s imperative that the IT company knows who within the company they can deal with when there are issues. It is also important for companies to be aware that response time when there is an IT issue is not the same as the time that will be required to fix the problem. Sometimes when a problem is found, it can be quite time consuming on the part of IT to fix it, and patience will be required in waiting for the problem to be corrected.

Knowing how vitally important computer systems and software are to the ability of the company to operate effectively is crucial when a company sets out to find an IT company. Having a clear contract, with expectations clearly stated is always the most effective way of dealing with an IT company.

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Implementing an efficient telephone system can definitely improve the way you communicate with your customers and business associates. Small business telephone systems are a great option for budding business enterprises to maintain effective communication.

Convey a Professional Business Image

Repeated breakdown in your communication system and improper call management can adversely affect your business image. Small business telephone systems offer organized call management and professional business communication. The enhanced communication experience that they offer would certainly attract more customers and enhance your sale leads and revenue. These phone systems come with high-tech call handling features including find-me/follow-me call forwarding, call conferencing, music on hold, voicemail, fax to email, voice to email and more.

The auto attendant receives calls in a professional manner and is programmed to transfer them to extensions, mailboxes, call queues, groups and conference rooms, as directed by the caller. The virtual receptionist manages several calls arriving at the same time with incredible efficiency.

Manage your Business from Distant Locations

Business establishments with more than one office and/or a mobile workforce benefit a lot from this small office telephone system. The advanced call forwarding feature routes calls to landline numbers or cell phones configured as extensions. Your business can be easily administered from other locations and you can stay connected to your clients and workforce all the time. Using a broadband connection like DSL, Cable or FIOS, your mobile workers can become an extension of your business PBX phone system.

Powerful Voicemail System

Modern small business telephone systems minimize the odds of missing calls and messages. Unanswered calls are instantly routed to the voicemail system, so that the callers can leave voice messages. This facility helps focus on core tasks without worrying about not taking customer calls during busy business hours. Voice messages are forwarded to your email account as audio file attachments. Whenever a new message arrives in your mailbox, it is promptly alerted on your cell phone.

With these diverse capabilities, small business telephone systems facilitate effective communication with your business clients. To enjoy all the benefits of these phone systems, it is important to get the service from dependable providers. This would assure the smooth functioning of the system, structured services and advanced PBX features at reasonable monthly charges.

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Imagine that you have just entered your favorite coffee shop. You can already smell your usual, and you can’t wait to taste it. But, as you look around the room, you notice that the place is so crowded that you can’t have a table to yourself. You’re going to have to share with someone else, just as many other people seem to be doing already.

Now imagine that you’ve collected your coffee and have sat down at a table with someone who you’ve never seen before and haven’t met. After exchanging the usual pleasantries about the weather and how full the place seems to be, you discover that this person is a self-employed millionaire. And to look at him, you’d never guess. He’s not wearing a tailor-made suit, a shirt with French cuffs, or a tie.

In fact, he’s dressed just like you: in a comfortable, well worn casual shirt, that’s open at the neck, jeans, and tennis shoes. And you learn from him that he divides his time between working from home and coming to a coffee shop like the one you’re in. And as you both sip your lattes, you also learn that not only did he not make his money as the result of creating some fantastic software that everyone now uses.

He didn’t start a business in the financial sector. Nor the real estate market. Instead, he made all his money in an online information business.

Wouldn’t you want to know more? Wouldn’t you be just a little curious as to how someone with no technical skills had managed to go from where you are to earning 20 times what you make in a year, and doing it every year?

What questions would you have for this ordinary person with such an extraordinary income? And how would you feel if this person was willing to spend an hour or so telling you how you could do the same thing.

Would that interest you?

What does he consider to be success as an entrepreneur?

How does he think being an entrepreneur has hindered you from becoming a better person?

What systems has he set up in his home business to help it grow?

Besides money, what is his favorite ways to compensate people?

What’s the strangest thing h has ever done as an entrepreneur?

These kinds of question rise in your mind and you would start communicate with him. So this is the very closer thoughts for those who are going to start their business.

Terry Dean is such a person.

And you can hear what he has to say about how he did it in an interview that I did with him.

Lately, gold as an investment has become a hot commodity. The ever-rising prices of gold have turned them into the best investment option. Though one can put the money in this expensive metal without any type of fear but still one must have some knowledge about this precious yellow metal.

There are concerns amongst investors when buying gold, just as there are concerns when putting money into any investment asset. However, many of these have benefits. When prices of the metal rise when the dollar goes down. These two have the inverse relationship between them. The weaker dollar or the unstable stock market makes it more expensive. So, most of the people like to invest in gold instead of the other sources. The stock market doesnt remain stable all the time and also makes for the unsecured investment. On the other hand, the expensive metals procure their value and mostly provide the good returns.

Gold is also liquidity and ease to sell. Buy gold coins to increase the returns value. These usually have the numismatic value and are more expensive than the bars. Over the time these yield more value than any other commodity. The historical coins never go for less if maintained in the perfect condition. Also these can be sold very easily owing to the higher liquidity.
When investors buy physical gold, they are reserving wealth by buying gold coins and bars. Gold coins give the opportunity to preserve the wealth from the economic downturn or inflation. These have the intrinsic value so one can rely on them during the adverse situations also. They wont become valueless under any circumstances. The yellow metal also doesnt rust and one can keep them safely in a secure storage safe.

Financial future security is another key fundamental when buying gold as an investment. Gold has proven to provide one of the best financial security for the future. As one can keep them for a long period of time because the metal doesnt deteriorate with time so it makes the future of the person secure. The financial security also gives the peace and prosperity in life.

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For those starting their accountancy career, achieving the status of partner at their firm can seem a lofty ambition. If you are a trainee at one of the Big4 firms the route to becoming a partner is to progress up the corporate ladder. At the bottom of the ladder are the interns (trainees), who, upon qualifying become associates.

The next step is to be promoted to a senior associate, then a manager, senior manager and then (hopefully) being offered a partnership. The length of time it takes to become a partner will be at least 10-12 years, which seems a long time, yet if you start as a graduate trainee at 21, this means you could make partner by the time you are in your early thirties. Fast progression is made even more possible if your area of specialisation e.g. tax is an area the firm particularly needs expertise in.

On being offered a position as a partner you will be encouraged to buy into the firm i.e. invest your own money in the firm (possibly by taking out a loan) in order to become a part-owner of the firm. New partners make the decision to invest in the knowledge that they will receive a big salary which will go up every year (starting from about 60,000-160,000 per year to 500,000 and above), and upon retiring they will receive dividends each year thereafter.

By part owning the firm however a partner has to consider the financial risk involved to him/herself should the firm become involved in any litigation, since then as part-owner would be considered culpable, even if they were not personally responsible. The Big4 firms employ over 500 partners each, with KPMG having over 800.

The route to the top is more difficult for some than others women and ethnic minorities are severely under-represented at partnership level, with some large accountancy practices having none at all at the top level. The Big4 have less than 5% ethnic minorities and less than 10% women partners. This is more surprising if you consider that most of the big firms take on an equal amount of male and female graduate trainees, and reinforces the stereotypical image of partners all being white and male.

However the top firms are starting to recognise that they might be missing out on talent and beginning to bring into practice new working conditions e.g. flexitime in order to help with childcare arrangements.

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A Wells Fargo financial professional recently helped to save a client from losing money in a scam targeting senior citizens. The 78-year old client thought that he won an overseas lottery. Instead, he became a victim of financial elder abuse via a typical lottery scam. The Wells Fargo professional prevented money from being sent offshore, however money from another bank was sent out. San Francisco financial elder abuse attorneys warn senior citizens that lottery scams are abundant. California elder abuse attorneys warn the public not to fall for lottery scams.

In this case, the senior citizen victim was contacted by unknown individuals claiming to be from the Costa Rican lottery. They told the senior citizen that he had won the lottery and that he could collect a $5 million payout. Then they told the senior citizen victim that there were some formalities and that they would need some personal information to verify his identity. Additionally, they told him that he needed to send money to pay off various taxes and fees associated with the money he had won. The senior citizen victim then went to one of his banks and transferred $88,000 to an offshore account. California financial elder abuse attorneys warn seniors not to transfer money overseas. San Francisco financial elder abuse attorneys say that sending money to offshore accounts is a very risky proposition.

Next, the senior citizen victim went to his Wells Fargo Bank and attempted to set up another transfer of $50,000 to an offshore account. This time the senior citizen got lucky. The Wells Fargo financial professional knew immediately that something was wrong and refused to go forward with the transfer. Since the senior citizen client was convinced that he was one transfer away from getting $5 million, there was an unpleasant exchange between the financial professional and the senior citizen. At that point, the financial advisor contacted the family of the senior and they helped convince him that it was a scam. The financial advisor helped prevent further financial elder abuse by refusing to transfer the money. San Francisco financial elder abuse attorneys say that financial professionals can play a role in the battle against financial elder abuse.

Evans Law Firm, Inc. handles elder abuse, financial elder abuse, physical elder abuse, annuity fraud, consumer fraud class actions, insurance and banking fraud cases. If you think that you have witnessed or are the victim of elder abuse, or financial fraud then contact Evans Law Firm, Inc. at 415-441-8669 for a free and confidential consultation, or email us at

Owning a McDonald’s franchise can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life if you know what you’re doing, if you have the resources to qualify and if you do it the right way. However, before you do your share of serving billions and billions of hamburgers worldwide, there’s a few things you need to be aware of in order to make the right decision.

Today, there are roughly over 30,000 restaurants spanning the globe in over 100 countries. McDonald’s franchise has been in existence since 1955 and the franchise owners have played huge roles in the overall success of the company.

When considering to buy a McDonald’s franchise, you have 2 options in which to do so. The first is to purchase an existing restaurant from the company or another franchise owner, which happens to be the most common practice. The second option is to purchase a brand new restaurant that is built from the ground up. In both cases, you must have a minimum of $300,000 down payment that can NOT be borrowed. You have to physically have it in liquid assets.

Other important factors in buying a McDonald’s franchise include having significant business experience, good management skills, the ability to manage finances well, you must be able to execute and deliver on a business plan, you have to maintain exceptional customer service and you have to have a good credit history. If you can’t show you have all of these capabilities, then this franchise may not be a good fit for you.

Most experts will tell you that breaking even in the first 7-10 years is doing a real good job of running your McDonald’s franchise. Part of the ongoing expenses include the traditional expenses like rent, utilities, inventory, wages and of course the 4% royalty fees that are based on gross revenues and not net profits. What’s interesting to know is that the McDonald’s corporation usually owns the land the franchises are on and the franchise owners pay their rent to the corporation. In fact, it can be argued that McDonald’s is actually in the business of real estate since they are one of the largest holders of real estate in the world.

Bottom line is that owing a McDonald’s franchise is not for the timid. You have to have considerable net worth, a good track record and still get approval by the company. Not all franchises are this way and if you don’t qualify for a McDonald’s franchise, then there are plenty of other viable options for you.

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Are you an entrepreneurial sales and management professional looking for a business franchise opportunity that will

-Provide repeat revenue through, automatically renewing contracts
-Allow you to offer services to nearly all businesses and commercial properties within a large, exclusive territory
-Capitalize on the growing business trend of outsourcing
-Allow you to spend your time growing your business, not performing daily operations yourself
-Allow you to offer a wide range of high-demand services, not just a select few
-Prove virtually recession proof
-Require very little equipment expense or inventory expense
-Be backed by a proven business model that has worked successfully since 1959

Professional Entrepreneurs want to align themselves with City Wide because we provide a proven franchise business model. City Wide offers a time-tested process that dramatically saves you,

the Entrepreneur, time to get you from zero to where you want to go as quickly and as smoothly as possible.

-Enjoy financial freedom and independence
-Invest in your own future
-Create your own niche in an essential service business
-Set and follow your own vision for developing a successful business
-Build relationships in your community
-Access a vast network of ongoing training and support

The Repair & Restoration franchise Puro Clean franchise is doing well with Paradigm Consulting, a Great Lakes franchise consultant.